It sounds like you are trying to do it the hard way. I don't even bother installing the software. I just plug it in (sometimes you have to format it, but generally not) and then create a folder on your hard drive. Call it something that you will remember (like backup 10-25-11) or something like that. Create a folder on there. Then, select everything that you want to copy, and RIGHT click on it and drag it to the folder. When you get a dialog box, tell it to COPY to the folder. It will probably take a couple of hours if you have a big file. Then let it quietly copy over and try not to really use your computer hard while it is copying. Good luck. I'll keep this page open in case you have more questions or are still having problems. Hang in there!! You are headed down the right direction.